Church of Scientology fined for felling healthy trees on event site - 2013-08-27

CLEARWATER — The city said no, but the Church of Scientology did it anyway, cutting down two healthy live oak trees this weekend near its downtown headquarters to make way for a massive tent being erected for an international gathering of Scientologists in November.

The removal of the approximately 20-foot-tall trees caught city officials and even the church's own contracted arborist by surprise on Monday.

"I was working on relocating those trees," said Rick Albee, a retired Clearwater arborist who now owns his own consulting company, Urban Forestry Solutions. "I didn't recommend it."